Teaching is a high-energy profession. It requires planning and your best all day, every day. Food does more than fill your stomach and provide energy; it also fuels your brain. You need to consume foods that will stay with you well beyond that lunch break you didn’t take or missed because of a meeting with staff or parents.
- Start the day with a protein-rich breakfast. Cereal or a muffin may be a quick way to get out the door, but they are high in carbs which turn to sugars which will drop your energy before lunch or snack break arrives. Instead try eggs, leftover chicken or another protein and you’ll make it well passed the morning trap: the 10:00 energy drop others may be facing.
- Pack a protein-rich lunch with protein-rich snacks from home. That way you can control the food you eat and avoid stepping up to the vending machine for a quick burst to “hold you over”. You’ll be glad you ate your protein snack since you’ll avoid the sudden fast food sugar drop an hour after you munch down that processed food snack.
- Since your brain consumes over 500 calorie a day, you need to feed it non-starchy fruits and veggies, whole grains and protein. Seeds, nuts, fish and foods like avocados provide fatty acids that enhance brain function; another reason to pack lunch from home.
- Protein is your friend, your source of clear thinking. It will serve you well all day long!